Darjeeling: India and Bhutan are set to form a joint committee to protect the flora and fauna along the border, especially from the hands of timber smugglers and poachers.
Officials from the two neighbouring countries today converged on the hill town to discuss how gangs dealing in animal parts use the border, the role of the new committee, the ways in which the members will co-ordinate with each other and methods to track down the “anti-national people” at the earliest.
An 11-member team from Bhutan, led by Dasho Tsering Wandga, the joint secretary of the home and cultural affairs department, has come here for the two-day strategic meeting with a 16-member Indian team, headed by B.L. Meena, the Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner.
The delegates will sign an understanding on the formation of the committee tomorrow, when they will discuss other issues regarding the conservation of wildlife, a source said. The hill kingdom team also included police chiefs and administrative officials from districts like Samtse and Chhuka.
Asked about today’s meeting, Meena said they were planning how to identify gangs involved in smuggling timber and animal parts. “We are trying to find ways to send information about poaching and smuggling across the border quickly. We will also have to act on the information as fast as possible to nab the culprits,” the divisional commissioner said. “The new committee will comprise the district magistrates and superintendents of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri and their counterparts in the hill kingdom.”
Wangda said there were several problems on both sides, but their amicable relationship would make it easier to solve them. “There will be obstacles here and there, but both Phuentsholing and Jaigaon on either side are doing well in maintaining peace and harmony along the border.”
Source: The Telegraph
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